Passport D.C.: Taste Your Way through Embassy Open House Day

My lovely cell-phone “action” shot from the Polish Embassy last year.
For a few weeks every spring, the embassies in Washington, D.C. open their doors and invite visitors to sample the music, dance, crafts, and food native to their countries.  Yours truly has attended Passport D.C. twice and always enjoys the quickie tour around the world.  One of the [...]

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Can You Guess the Product?

What it’s made of:

combined with water, sugar, carbon dioxide, natural caramel flavor, and caffeine from coffee beans.
Answer after the jump.

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Amaretto, Anyone?

If there is a better way to spend Valentine’s Day than sipping cocktails side-by-side in a secret candlelit bar, I don’t know it.  Especially when some of those drinks involve handmade sour mix and a lovely, not-too-sweet almond liquer from Portugal:
Ferreira Duque Doirinha
Doirinha is strikingly similar to amaretto, but less cloying and intense.  It makes a [...]

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Good Grape: Cederberg Bukettraube 2007

Vinoteca is a wonderful wine bar in the U Street Corridor of Washington, DC.  It’s also conveniently around the corner from Ben’s Chili Bowl, if you’re into late-night noshing after wine.
But I digress.  One reason Vinoteca is such a fun experience is that they offer wine in three portions — tastes, full glasses, and bottles.  And unlike some places, [...]

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RIP Döner Kebab Creator

A moment of silence to remember the creator of the mouth-watering street snack, the Döner Kebab: 
 

Credit: The Local
A German news site, The Local, reports:

In sad news for anyone who has been drunk and hungry at 2 am, the man who invented the döner kebab sandwich nearly four decades ago in Berlin has passed away.
Mahmut Aygün, the Turkish immigrant who revolutionised [...]

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Savor the Spice of Himalayan Heritage

A couple of nights ago, I had my first encounter with Nepali cuisine at Adams Morgan’s Himalayan Heritage restaurant.  It was fun exploring the menu, which isn’t intimidating if you’re familiar with Indian food.  Our waitress graciously guided us through the Nepali offerings and recommended chicken “momo,” or steamed dumplings ($9.95):

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Pie: Your Patriotic Duty

Happy Inauguration, everyone!
To commemorate this historic day, take a cue from our new Commander-in-Chief, who believes in the audacity of flaky goodness:

This wonderful credited to Scott Olson/Bloomberg News
If pie’s not your thing (or if you’re less enthused about the regime change), an inaugural cocktail might do the trick.
The Lady Michelle (rum, huckleberries, mint, [...]

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Would you rather have…?

Hilarious.

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Good Grape: La Crema Pinot Noir 2006

The winemaker says:
“We admit it. We’re a little obsessed with terroir. Especially when it comes to Pinot Noir. Technically, terroir means the absolutely unique characteristics of a site – soil, wind, temperature, cosmic influences, neighboring lavender fields, nearness of the sea. For Pinot, it means that the subtle texture and flavors of one site cannot [...]

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